In the game of American football, the football which is employed is known as an oblate spheroidal ball. Those American footballs which are known are constructed of four panels sewn together at four seams, with one of the seams having an opening for insertion of the inflatable bladder, which opening is thereafter closed through the use of laces which are also gripped when the football is thrown. American footballs have dimensions permitting them to be thrown in a "spiral", place kicked end over end and punted end over end or in a "spiral".
As is known, the preferred location to place kick such a football is diametrically opposite to the seam on which the laces are located. Under such circumstances, with four panels and four seams, this kicking location is located on a seam diametrically opposite to the seam which carries the laces. Thus, the location where the football is commonly kicked is a surface including the described seam as well as the adjacent surfaces of the panels which are interconnected at that seam. Thus, the striking surface of the place kicker's shoe engages a surface of the football that is non-uniform, that is, from left to right, includes a panel surface, a seam and a panel surface. As a football is used and exhibits wear, and under adverse weather conditions such as those including rain and snow, the wear patterns on the surface of a football are non-uniform. In particular, footballs appear to wear more prominently on the panels thereof as compared to within the seams thereof. This inconsistency of wear adds to potential inconsistency in effectiveness of place kicking. Thus, it would be advantageous to place kick a football on a uniform surface thereof to thereby provide uniformity of trajectory and distance.
Unfortunately, as American footballs are now manufactured, in order to kick such a football on a uniform surface such as that which is located on a panel remote from a seam, one would have to rotate the football on its tip to a position where the laces are misaligned from the direction of force application from the foot. Under such circumstances, the resultant weight imbalance caused by this misalignment of the laces will necessarily affect the trajectory of the kicked ball, causing it to arc in the direction corresponding to the lateral location of the laces. As such, a need has developed for a football which may be place kicked in an effective manner with the laces aligned with the direction of force application of the place kicker's foot. It is with this need in mind that the present invention was developed.
Applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,737 to Jacobson et al. Jacobson et al. teach an elongated "football" specifically designed to be easily grasped and thrown by the user and which includes three separately inflatable internal bladders. Jacobson et al. teach the use of five panels sewn together with five seams, however, each seam is disclosed as carrying laces or simulated laces. There is no teaching or suggestion by Jacobson et al. that the disclosed "elongated football" is intended to be used in playing the game of American football nor do Jacobson et al. teach the ability to kick their device. Clearly, the elongated "football" of Jacobson et al. may not be effectively place kicked due to its elongated dimensions and the inherent lack of stability that would result. The elongation would prevent the "ball" from maintaining an end over end flight pattern. According to the rules of the National Football League, an American football must be 11 to 111/2 inches in length, have a long circumference of 28 to 281/2 inches and a short circumference of 21 to 211/4 inches (corresponding to a maximum diameter of 6.68" to 6.76") and must weigh between 14 and 15 ounces. These dimensions are nowhere contemplated by the Jacobson et al. device that is disclosed as having a length of "more than two feet" and a maximum diameter of "no more than about ten inches".
Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 1,505,802 to Pierce which discloses a football having an inflation stem as well as a patch on the other side of the ball designed to balance the weight of the inflation tube. Pierce also contemplates the use of a second filling tube in conjunction with the patch as a balancing means. While Pierce does teach the concept of balancing the weight of the filling tube, Pierce fails to teach balancing the weight of the laces of the football nor the other aspects of the present invention including the use of an odd number of panels and reinforcement of a single panel diametrically opposite to the laces of the ball.